HATTIESBURG — It didn’t take long for the Columbia Wildcats to impose their will May 16 against Sumrall in a spring exhibition game played at The Rock in Hattiesburg.
Columbia’s offense struck early and often, and its defense dominated throughout in a 30-0 drumming of the Bobcats. The game was structured as two 12-minute quarters or the equivalent of one half.
Head coach Chip Bilderback said there were a lot of positives to take away from the matchup and the spring overall.
“We feel good about both of our running backs and the development of both of our quarterbacks. That battle will go into the fall. Defensively we grasped what we’re doing in year two, and the carryover from the fall to now has really helped our guys,” he said. “I think the carryover that we have is going to make us a lot better. We just have to continue to develop depth, and our goal from here on out is to have the best summer that we can for Columbia football.”
Quarterback Josh Brown jumpstarted the offense on the opening drive with a couple of elusive runs before star running back Kentrel Bullock broke away for a 37-yard touchdown. Kentrel Bullock powered through several arm tackles and showcased his electric speed to find the end zone, and Omarie Johnson capped it off by running in the two-point conversion.
Sumrall couldn’t get anything going offensively on the ensuing drive and elected to punt after a 3-and-out. Columbia didn’t waste any time scoring again, but this time the Wildcats sprinkled in some high-percentage throws, most notably Brown hitting Darreious Bullock in the flat for a 26-yard catch and run. Omarie Johnson finished off the drive by bulling into the end zone from six yards out, but the Wildcats failed to get the conversion and led 14-0.
The Bobcats were able to pick up one first down on the ensuing possession but were forced to punt again to set up another Wildcats touchdown. After he ran down the sideline for an 18-yard gain, Kentrel Bullock broke through the heart of the Sumrall defense for a 31-yard score. Omarie Johnson muscled in the conversion to put the Wildcats up 22-0 with 1:03 to go in the opening quarter.
Columbia defensive tackle Jeremiah Haynes blew up Sumrall’s next possession and celebrated appropriately. On 2nd-and-10, the 6-foot-1, 300-pound 1-technique, which lines up between the center and guard, shot the gap and laid out Bobcats running back Darryn Coney for a 4-yard loss before Coney could even make a move then gave an enthusiastic punch to the sky. That preempted another Sumrall punt — punts were marked off as 30 yards with no special teams being played in the game — but Columbia gave the ball right back.
Rising senior Javen Moses, who is battling Josh Brown for the starting quarterback job, came in to see his first action of the game, but he stared down his receiver crossing over the middle and was picked off on his first attempt. The Wildcats got the ball right back, though, forcing another punt and needed just four plays to add another six points on the board.
Kentrel Bullock started the drive with a 22-yard scamper and had 15 yards added to the end of the run because of a facemask penalty. That led to Omarie Johnson’s second touchdown of the game, a 2-yard run on an outside zone. Tryson Johnson ran in the conversion as the Wildcats went up 30-0 with 8:31 left in the second quarter.
Then the Wildcats forced their first takeaway of the exhibition, courtesy of Haynes and Louisiana Tech commit Jamison Kelly. Haynes burst into the backfield with a quick swim move and forced Sumrall quarterback John Ford to release a lame duck in the middle of the field where Kelly was waiting to haul it in. Kelly, who was named The Columbian-Progress Defensive Player of the Year in 2018, had six interceptions last season.
Moses got back on track in his third drive running the offense, completing two passes to Kentrel Bullock and Sadarion Magee for gains of 20 and eight yards, respectively. However, with most of the subs in the game, the Wildcats’ drive stalled in the red zone and they turned it over on downs.
The defense forced yet another 3-and-out to give Columbia the ball back at the Bobcats’ 39. The Wildcats only ran one play, though, before the clock expired, a 29-yard run by Ziquae Amos.
Haynes led the Columbia defense with three tackles, a tackle for loss and two pressures, and Daquan Ball flashed his skills with two stops, a sack and a tackle for loss. Joey Croom and Brown each had a tackle for loss, Antonio “AJ” Walker had two tackles and Magee had two pass breakups.
“Jeremiah Haynes has had such a great offseason. AJ Walker has had a great offseason and Joey Croom as well,” Bilderback said. “Defensively our guys have really bought into lifting and have gotten so much stronger. We feel like we’re going to be a physical team, and we have to be in (Region) 8-3A to be successful. It’s such a grind and our schedule is so tough that we have to be a physical style team on both sides of the ball.”
Greg Fortenberry and Jordan Aaron also played really well up front both offensively and defensively.
The second-year head coach said he liked that the Wildcats were able to get some of their depth some game reps with some starters out with injuries, particularly defensive end Justin Lee, who suffered a broken hand and had surgery to put pins in.
Bilderback said he feels good about where running backs Kentrel Bullock and Omarie Johnson are, as well as the development of quarterbacks Brown and Moses.
“Josh is a smart kid and has great composure. I think he has a bright future for us, and I think he brings a lot of elements to the offense,” he said. “Javen brings a lot of elements to the offense, too. I’m glad I have two quarterbacks I feel good about. We still want to continue to work on our passing game into the fall to be the offense we need to be.”
Bilderback said the No. 1 focus this summer will be getting in the best possible shape physically, and No. 2 is to get closer as a team, which he said is often overlooked.
Pictured Above: Columbia H-back Darreious Bullock picks up 20 yards on a catch-and-run. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
